$23 Billion Bill To "Fully Fund" Border Wall To Be Introduced This Week

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy plans to introduce a bill this week that will fully fund President Trump's much-promised border wall, according to an exclusive report by Breitbart.

Border wall prototypes (Getty)

The "Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act" would allocate $23.4 billion on top of the $1.6 billion already spent in order to build the wall the rest of the way, as well as provide for a "variety of enforcement measures."

McCarthy said in a statement to Breitbart News that: "President Trump’s election was a wakeup call to Washington. The American people want us to build the wall and enforce the law. Maintaining strong borders is one of the basic responsibilities of any nation. For too long, America has failed in this responsibility."

On Monday, outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan hinted that there would be a post-midterms border wall funding fight, saying: "We intend on having a full-fledged discussion on how to complete our mission to secure the border, and yes, we will have a fight about this."

"Given that this new bill comes from the Majority Leader, McCarthy, and this bill contains several other measures already passed by the House with high margins of success, its prospects for passage are promising," writes Breitbart's Matt Boyle.

The enforcement measures expected to be in this wall funding legislation include, among other legislation, Kate’s Law, an enforcement bill named for Kate Steinle, who was killed in sanctuary city San Francisco in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Kate’s Law passed the House 257-167 last year. Also included will be a bill the House has already passed targeting sanctuary cities, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which passed the House last year 228-195. The Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, which passed the House last year 233-175, will be in the bill, as will two House resolutions on immigration that passed the House this year: one upholding and honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, the other admonishing illegal alien voting in a number of American cities. -Breitbart

The forthcoming bill will not address Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) cases - which will give Democrats significantly less ammunition to derail the effort.

McCarthy will travel on Wednesday to the US border with Mexico to meet with Border Patrol agents, where he will also receive a briefing from Border Patrol officials on operations and threat assessments.

While the bill will probably pass through the House with little trouble, the Senate should prove to be a bit more daunting - as Republicans only have a 51-49 majority, and would need 60 votes to clear a filibuster hurdle on a cloture vote - unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell changed the Senate rules - which he has been thus far hesitant to do amid enormous pressure.

But that’s where things get interesting, as Republicans could pick up as many as five or more extra Senate seats in the midterm elections depending on how a variety of races shake out–meaning they would be much closer to that 60-vote threshold making it easier to roll the necessary Democrats and get the votes required to clear the cloture hurdle of 60 votes and get a bill like this to the president’s desk so he can sign it. -Breitbart

That said, Republicans wouldn't have those key votes until January, 2019 - and that's assuming the Democrats' "blue wave" crashes on the rocks. "that means whatever the House passes in late 2018 for it to become law unless the Senate goes for it this year would need to be passed again in early 2019," writes Boyle.

Red wave?

With a variety of post-midterm threats levied by Democrats - including launching investigations and impeachment proceedings against both President Trump and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Republicans who want to see the wall go up will have an additional incentive to head to the polls.

A vote for a Republican is a vote for the wall, in other words, as the House GOP will need to hold its majority going into the next Congress to ensure that this border wall funding makes it to the president’s desk. If Democrats take the House on November 6, a newly reminted Speaker Nancy Pelosi most certainly would not support funding the wall along the border–which, in turn, makes the midterms a referendum on the wall because if Republicans hold the House and add seats in the Senate, they can get the votes necessary to get full wall funding to Trump’s desk in early 2019. -Breitbart